


Vitari

by Miivahkiin



Category: Shades of Magic - V. E. Schwab
Genre: i mean almost, sibling bonding time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-01-23 04:44:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21314398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miivahkiin/pseuds/Miivahkiin
Summary: Ever wondered how they got their grabby hands on Vitari? No? Well, I certainly did! Following an incident with his sister, Athos sets out on an 'epic' quest for a solution to their problem while Astrid has to stay behind with Holland - which leads to its own problem, of course.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't found their voices yet, things will go smoother after a while - not for them, though. Plan is having them all mentally sitting in the corner and crying.
> 
> Mature & Graphic Depictions of Violence because... well it's the Dane Twins, what do we expect. I don't know yet how far it will go, we will see. Or not.

Waves washed over the shore. It was an almost hypnotic sound that even drowned the yelling of her companions, who climbed between the rocks in their search. In the distance, she could see her brother crawling across pebbles of an old, abandoned hut. He was searching, too. 

Slow steps carried her over to him, passed the others without averting her gaze from the boy that stood only slightly taller as her and the other children. He was not an impressive sight to behold but rather ghastly in his appearance - just like her. Pale blue gazes met and he lifted his hand towards the sky; with a small thing between his fingers. 

“I’ve won,” he declared with a proud smile on his thin lips. “Look.”

She leaned over, regarding the little brooch made of silver. A brow rose towards her hairline, something he noticed immediately. The smile vanished from his face and joined the frown instead. “You don’t believe me.”

Oh. “Is it enchanted?” It was the only reason they were here after all. Her brother turned the brooch between his fingers, looked at it from all sides before handing it over to her. “It’s warm. There’s magic in it.”

The silver was indeed warm to the touch, she thought and started examining the curious little thing herself. Runes had been engraved but they were slowly fading away. “You’ve won, yes,” she replied with a defeated tone in her voice. She did not like losing. She was a sore loser. Usually she would take the treasure away from the other if they were more lucky than her and if they complained she would make them regret it. But not with him. 

“Don’t let the others see it.” And then she gave him the accessory back. “They will kill you for that.” 

But he only laughed, said they would be free to give it a try. “I’ll make them beg for death.” And she was with him, too, they could not lose a fight. He firmly believed it at least. 

They would be tested soon as the finding did not stay unnoticed by the companions. Like little shadows they crept towards the twins; at first she had not heard them over the waves’ melodies. The biggest one shoved her carelessly to the side. She gritted her teeth. 

“Found something?” The boy towered over her brother, had survived more years than them - born without magic but was not less dangerous. He always craved for pretty things. They should have gotten rid of him before coming to the shore. Now it was too late though. “Give it to me,” he demanded and presented them his open, flat palm but her brother only stared at him in a defiant manner. He would never give up his treasures. “Now.”

But her brother did not. It was then that the shadows came over the two as if some secret signal for an attack was given by the tall boy. He himself drew a knife which left her brother still unimpressed. He never refused to fight, certain he could battle them all at once. 

Overestimating himself was his greatest weakness. They were both hungry for fights and blood, it made them stronger but she knew when to wait, or to flee to fight another day. But he was good at convincing her in one way or the other. Sometimes she would join just to protect him, like he would do for her. Maybe they needed the other, maybe not. 

Her finger grabbed for her own knife while everything else happened so fast. For the first time she thought she could not act fast enough to prevent the worst. Shadowy fists rained upon her brother, who tried defending himself with his own bare hands. 

Soon they were covered in blood. Then there was the knife of the other boy. Cold steel reflected the white light of the sun as it passed her; it made her drop her own and with bare hands she grabbed the body at his wrists, knowing he was so much stronger than the rather frail girl. 

But they had to protect each other. Always.

Her face was a grimace that stared at him; eyes as daggers that stabbed him and for a second he seemed surprised, followed by terror as if her glare could actually harm him. A scream escaped from his chapped lips.

“What is this?!” The boy screeched as pain made his body tremble. Her eyes widened, did not know what was happening. 

Magic?

Her hands felt warm, almost burning. The boy stopped. She felt triumph.

The shadows stopped fighting as well as her brother did. Nothing moved.

It was an awfully long moment in which nothing happened. Was the fight over by the sudden burst of magic? Or whatever it was? 

No. Suddenly the boy just grinned, revealed a row of rotten teeth and shoved her aside once more. If it was magic, it had failed. Horribly. 

Her brother rose his voice in an attempt to say something, probably threaten the others and distract them from her sister, but he just gasped and a river of blood poured down between his teeth. His pale eyes looked at her. A ghastly appearance. 

The tall boy’s knife found its target. Her hands grew cold as ever as her brother sunk to his knees. She did too. 

The silver brooch made a clunking sound when it touched the ground. 

“Astrid!”

She awaked violently, leaning forward and gasping for air as if she had not taken a breath for ages. Her heart was racing and she thought it would break her bones. It took her a moment, even two to realize where she was; to replace the shore with the throne room. Her nails dug deep into the throne to find something real to hold on, the cold stone was somewhat comforting.

The Pale Queen let her gaze wander through the room, from the shimmering floor to the soldiers at the door, who stared back at her with empty eyes. Yes, this was not the shore. And then her gaze found her brother. Athos. What a strange feeling. 

“What happened,” he wanted to know, slightly amused from the sudden distress that she showed. In the next blink of an eye, she regained her composure. “Startling the unaffected with your screams.” He could not suppress a laugh.

She scowled, looked at the figure next to the throne. Still unaffected. “Nothing,” Astrid lied. He did not have to know. 

But he sensed it nonetheless; and she disliked that. He could always see it but at least he did not talk. 

Slowly her fingers loosened their grip upon the arm-rests. They felt numb and she rubbed her thumb against them and yet it was to no avail. He watched her silently, his gaze was enough to pose a question, she did not know how to answer. 

No, she knew how to answer but if she was honest to herself, she did not want to. Not at first but he would not stop staring at her pallid fingers until she replied:

“They’re cold.”


	2. Chapter 2

Since the fateful day at the shore, he had not seen his sister being afraid of anything. Where fear had slowed down her actions back then, the sudden outburst of magic had swept away everything of it at once. After they discovered their magic, no matter how twisted and rotten it was compared to what he had heard about, they had no reason for fear left.

But what he had seen in the throne room was the very same terror in her eyes that she showed in the past, he thought. He could not deny that it unsettled him, too. 

“They’re cold,” he heard his sister mumbling, half in thought and half… something else, he could not quite tell what it was. He was not used to hear such a tone in her voice. Not anymore. 

“You clawed them into the throne.”

“That’s not the same.” Like a mad woman she continued rubbing her hands to bring the warmth back to their tips until they turned bright pink. From the look on her face, Athos could tell it had not worked. 

He cleaned the bloody knife with a piece of cloth while regarding the man hanging in chains before him. The servant had lost his consciousness quite quickly into the procedure which took away most of the entertainment; how was he supposed to receive his punishment for spilling precious blood all over the floor? Athos did not like unreliable servants, one was always required to watch after them.

But they were useful for trying out new things. No one would miss them if the experiment went wrong and there was never a lack of servants. He was about to put the blade back unto the man’s skin when the door behind him opened with a long creak that echoed through the cell. 

Still with the knife in his hand, the Pale King turned around. “I said no disturbances.” Especially not when he was in deep thought. But his dark face lighted up slightly in a crueller expression at the guest. 

“Missing the cells?”

The other’s steps were silent as they always were. Like a shadow he stepped closer to the king; looking at him with a cold gaze. It was a shame that Athos could not change that as well but then again, he enjoyed that look into the other’s eyes as if a flicker of him was still fighting against the rest of his body. 

“Your Majesty.” The Antari pulled a little box from a pocket, followed by a note written on a dirty piece of paper and handed both to the king. “The expedition has returned.”

With his thumb he opened the box, revealing a curious looking object he could not quite tell what exactly it was. It appeared as if someone had dropped it in a pot of ink. In any case, he could feel the vibrations of magic. And powerful magic at that. It was a miracle that it had found its way into his hands, considering the circumstances outside their fortress’ walls. Usually they would disappear as soon as they reached the city. Too many sensed these artefacts and stole them, sometimes it was near to impossible to trace them down again, he had to admit and the mere thought of all that lost power left a bitter taste in his mouth. The paper made a crunching noise, reminding him that his hand had clenched into a fist. 

Like he was frozen into a statue, Holland watched him. But for a split of a second his attention was attracted by the man in chains behind the king.  
He was still his favorite victim of torture. No one else could give him that sort of euphoria. “So, I was right.” This place always tended to call its victims and torturers back. Magic in its own way, he added in his mind as he skimmed the note. It had been written hastily. 

Before he shoved the note into his own pocket, Athos muttered something beneath his breath and headed for the door. His left hand motioned the Antari to follow him. A second passed in which Holland’s eyes were fixated on the chains before he turned and followed through the heavy door and down the hallway. 

Heavy silence greeted them; together with bloody patches on the floor that ended at the feet of his sister. At first, he could only imagine what she had done but it did not take him long to spot the corpses of two guards to the right and left of the door. There was not much left of them however aside of the armor and some rather unidentifiable parts - whatever she had done to them, it had not stopped with killing them. They had been torn to shreds. Astrid was standing at the fireplace, her fingers reached for the pale flames. 

“You could have waited for me.” He nodded towards the corpses. “Looks like you were quite entertained.” 

“They knew.” 

“About what?” 

Her solemn expression shifted into a grimace as she drew away from the fire and glared at him; hatred burnt in her eyes, something he had never seen directed at him. She traversed the room in long, hasty steps until she was almost so close to him that he could feel her cold breath against his skin. No, he had never seen her reacting like she did now. And she was silent, just showed him her hands. They were well kept as always with no dirt beneath the nails. There was nothing unusual however and thus he frowned. 

“I don’t like those games.” She knew he was not good at guessing. 

His sister averted her gaze for a brief second as if she had to gather strength for a reply. She looked oddly weak in that moment, he thought. “My magic is fading.” Her voice was scarcely more than a whisper, grave. 

“You’re hallucinating,” Athos laughed, tried to be confident in his judgement but he could see that she had caught the hint of nervousness. His laughter died down as soon as he realized that she did not join like she would do. This was not a jest. 

And then she shook her head softly, did not say anything else but presented him her hands once more. Without a second thought he grabbed them, cold claws like that of a dead body. He swallowed hard, pulled away again. 

“How could they know?” 

She crossed her arms over her chest. “They guarded the throne room. Maybe they have heard us talking. I don’t want to risk it.” 

It made no sense, they were under his spell - even if they knew about the recent events, they were not able to tell anyone. In the end, it was a waste of soldiers because of baseless suspicion.

While he did not agree with her taking matters into her own hands that quickly and without talking to him first, he understood it. Well, as good as he could. It was one of those moments, in which he had to rely on her judgement completely. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, thinking. What were they going to do now? 

Their reign depended on the power of them both, neither of them would have seized the throne alone and they were well aware of that fact. Not to mention that they had never wanted to reign alone to begin with. But they could not hold the throne without the other, no matter how secure their position seemed to be now. Sooner or later someone would come for them and try stealing the crown. He had to prevent that from happening. 

He had to protect his sister. For her sake and his own.

His fingers played with the little box in his pocket. The vibration it radiated was somewhat soothing, he had to admit. They had to come up with a solution - quickly. If he did not want to see his sister fade away together with her magic. 

After a long pause that was so heavy on his shoulders that he thought he would suffocate by it, he turned his hand to his favorite servant. Two different eyes looked back at him without any flicker of emotion in them. If he thought anything about the situation, he was guarding it well. 

“Bring me the goblet.”


	3. Chapter 3

Slowly warmth returned to her hands but it was nowhere as strong as it had been before the nightmares had started for several weeks ago. She was good at hiding those nightmares, which did frighten her if she was absolutely honest to herself but how could she ever tell her brother about dreams? He would not understand it but hands, deprived of magic was something he understood all too well. 

They both knew how it felt to have no magic running in their veins and the sudden awakening of their powers had opened doors for them they had not even imagined to exist. Where hunting for remnants of magic at the cliffs and other dangerous places had been their only mean to survive, magic promised them an actual life. Suddenly everything appeared to be possible for them. Even starting their journey to the capitol when they were still children. 

And now she could feel how the very same magic that granted her a life, away from fear and poverty, started vanishing. She licked over her blood-stained lips; gathered the last drops of the goblet. Liquid magic, blood, tickled on her tongue, it always did. It was sweeter than any wine. And no wine could give her such a rush like blood did. 

Her brother’s servant stood in a corner of the room, his knife still in his hand as Athos had not ordered him to put it away yet - maybe they wanted more. She watched him from the corner of her eye. Having an Antari at her own disposal would have solved all her problems.

Was she envious because of it? Maybe. But her brother always made sure they were even. She had no reason to mistrust him. And he could trust her, too. The goblet made a clicking sound against the arm-rest when she lowered her arm. “Your blood is getting sweeter and sweeter with every day,” Astrid mused, still watching Holland. “Is it the agony?”

Her lips curled into a cruel smile. Without a doubt, the drink had lifted her spirits. Her brother was sitting across from her, had left her the majority of the goblet’s content. He leaned forward with his arms resting on his knees. 

“It won’t help for long.” 

Athos looked up from his hands. “For now, it does.”

But what meant for now? It was something she rather did not think about but their situation did not allow them to shove it aside either. She turned the goblet in her hands. Her lips had left a crimson print on the edge. 

“And then?”

For one moment or two, her brother kept silent but his expression already told enough: He was not sure either. How would they even tackle such a situation to begin with? They would have never thought their magic could vanish again… it did with others but not with them. Not with the Dane Twins. Well. Her fingers closed around the goblet more tightly as she gritted her teeth. She had earned her magic; nothing was allowed to take it away from her again. 

It was Athos who broke the reoccurring silence between them and woke her up from her grim thoughts by pulling a box out of his pocket. “The expedition found something,” he started, revealing the little object inside. “We don’t know what it is but it seems to be powerful. They picked it up near ruins - we haven’t known of them yet either.” Her brow furrowed at his words. 

“And that was all?” 

He handed her the object, which she started studying immediately as it rolled into her palm. For an instant she had the urge to drop it; it was scorching. He was right about its potential but it did not explain its use, though. “Looks like a charm.” If it was something else, she could not identify it. Carefully she tapped at the magic inside, lured it out.

Even though her brother did not seem to be pleased by her attempt to feast upon the embedded magic, he did not stop her. Instead he continued talking as if nothing was happening. “They didn’t dare coming closer. Well, most of them. They think it’s cursed. There might be more inside. If other treasure hunters picked up that aura too, no one set a foot inside.” 

The object fell into her lap; the inky appearance was gone. 

“You broke it,” her brother exclaimed in a frustrated voice. But in this very moment she did not care about the object he had found. She regarded her hands with a smile on her lips. “They’re warm again.” 

Was that a little triumph? She would have done anything to keep her magic and her life, even if it meant stealing belongings of her brother. Those things were replaceable while she was not. 

He rushed forward and caught her hands, apparently wanted to check himself which left his eyes wide in surprise - and confusion. He could feel it as well. Yes. 

“Not as strong as before.” She scowled at him in response. “But you’re right. You still broke it. Look, you have nothing left.”

Both their gazes wandered to the broken object; it was not half as interesting as it was before she had drained it completely. Her brother let go of her hands. “What kind of ruin is it?” She wanted to distract him from the gift she had just destroyed and she would have lied saying that newly found digging side was of no interest to her. 

She would have loved visiting it as well.

Sometimes she missed those days when they crawled among rocks and fished in cracks for things other people, people with magic, had left behind. But with their new responsibility it was impossible to go back to it - it was an amusing thought to her since they had wanted to flee from this kind of life for so long. 

Maybe it just was in her bones. 

Athos shrugged. “The note only spoke about a place with a strong magical aura. Very wondrous and dangerous. I haven’t talked to them yet myself. Some even died there. But if it’s promising...”

He paused for a while; in deep thought. His fingers touched his chin. Sometimes he would do this and then come up with a wonderful idea but sometimes it was one of the awful kind. One could never be sure what it would be. Even her. Then he looked at her and the broken object and then to Holland. 

He was still standing in the corner as if he was an always watching statue. 

“What?” She leaned forward, now intrigued by her brother’s look and the pause he made. 

One second passed, then another before he spoke up again. “It revived your magic. At least for now. Other treasures from there probably do the same. We’ve never seen something like this before, it might be even a new type of magic. Or something long lost.”

“You want them to be brought into the palace?” She had thought this was his intention all along and not connected to her little problem. Sometimes the results of his deep thinking were also disappointing, she remembered. One part of her had expected something else. Something better than this. 

But he shook his head. “No. I’ll go myself. This place seems to be special.”

This was nothing she wanted to hear. “You can’t simply leave. We can’t hold the throne without the other. You know what we agreed upon when we decided to take the crowns.” Her voice became more heated and she slammed the goblet onto the arm-rest. 

Was that ridiculous idea truly the result of his thinking? 

“I know,” he replied in a not less heated voice There was it again, that hint of frustration but this time it was heavier. Clearly, he did not like this idea either. “But what else is left? Waiting for the next person coming to steal our reign? We have to bring your power back, there is no other way if we want to survive!”

The Pale Queen rose to her feet, for a brief moment everything blurred. “You can’t leave! This place might kill you and then you leave me behind to die too.”

But he would never. He had never left her alone or unprotected for the short time they were separated and yet she could not trust him in this matter. They were no children anymore and their lives were more at the stake then they had ever been. 

Now they were king and queen and everyone waited for them to become weaker. All eyes were on them. 

Deep down they both knew he had to go and look for himself, especially when no one wanted to enter those ruins – and come out alive. His eyes were better than her own. He would surely find a way but she could not help but dread that moment of departure. 

She lowered her shoulders, sighed heavily as she calmed down and he did the same. More reluctant however. Defeated. “Our life depends on you now… yes?” He nodded. This was a disaster.

Once more the city would become more threatening again and this time, he would not be there to keep an eye on her himself.


	4. Chapter 4

General Dmaja’s Journal

We have only been riding for days but it feels like weeks since we have left the capitol. To strengthen our numbers for the expedition King Athos has taken some of the fortress’ guards with us but they are not experienced in hunting - they do not know when to explore and when to retreat. They still lack the understanding of silent danger. But the king seems to be desperate. He does not talk much and when he does, I can hear tension in his voice. 

Something must have happened in the fortress but he keeps silent about it. Yesterday one of the younger guards was foolish enough to suggest another way, around the wide snowfield which would surely save us one or two men but prolong our journey for a few days. He cannot longer speak. 

Since this incident no one dares to talk, only nod at his orders no matter how removed from reality they are. Cross the snow field during a storm because we have no time for another path. He is afraid of something and maybe if he is afraid, we should be afraid as well. 

“We will take a break at dawn,” King Athos ordered. “The sky is clear.” 

He put us all into danger with his decision. And yet I agreed, there was nothing else I could have done if I did not want to end like poor Radijk. Farmers might discover his corpse, given that spring will come again and snow slowly taws away. “How long?”

At first, I did not understand what he meant and when I asked him, he became displeased and glared at me but explained his question nevertheless. “How long until we arrive at the ruins?” 

“If we keep that speed, we might reach it tomorrow.”

“When?” 

I almost shrugged, how was I able to predict it? I was uncertain if we even could survive the night. The sky was clear, yes but he knew as well as I did that this was not a good sign. The night would be cold and the sharp wind promised struggle. I wrapped my cloak closer around myself. The mere thought of displeasing the king more, already caused enough shivers. “Evening, maybe even in the afternoon. If no more incidents happen.”

His pale blue eyes were like daggers and they stabbed me repeatedly while his gaze still rested on me, I wished he would avert it. Both the twins made me uncomfortable but of course I would never tell them, especially the brother would enjoy knowing it and play with me. 

Sometimes I consider leaving. But I am loyal, I owe them too much. Without them I would have long died in the streets of the capitol. 

“What incidents? The weather won’t change.” 

“Wolves,” I replied but he only laughed at it as if I had told him a joke. But it would not have been the first time that a group of travellers was attacked by wolves in this region, when the weather grew colder, they grew more desperate too. In the light of the evening and his grimace, distorted by a mocking laugh, he reminded me of a wolf too. I finally broke our eye-contact and focused on the unseen path ahead. 

My friends who served the two wolves in the fortress were clearly something else to be able to endure those laughs and stares every day without going insane. Maybe he had already bound them to his will, I have not talked to them in a while. The hunting parties were a gift sent by something or someone who wanted me to stay away. Until now. 

He leaned towards me. “Are we afraid of wolves?” There were no teeth, no snarl but it would have been a lie if I wrote that I did feel nothing. Something truly horrifying. I am loyal to him.

“Not more than the common farmer.” And a farmer was more threatened by them than we were, armed with several blades and sometimes with magic as well. But unlike us, farmers had their huts. When I thought about it, it was not very comforting either. “They’re savage beasts,” I added in a low voice. “Unpredictable. Suddenly turning against everyone.”

He made an agreeing sound and I could feel how his gloved hands reached for the strands of my hair; he had always found that golden shimmer most fascinating, as if a touch of summer had stayed when everything turned into winter.

A hum escaped from his thin, cruel lips before they moved back and revealed a row of almost unnatural white teeth. I forgot to breathe for a moment, kept it and almost had to gasp for air when I realized. 

“But they care for their pack, don’t they?”

“In most cases.” Wolves did not kill each other like he had done with Radijk. He had not deserved that treatment, he only wanted to protect them from a questionable decision but the king would not see it. He was too occupied with his own dark thoughts. 

I sensed it in the fortress. When something tremendous happens, it can be felt everywhere, silence is so heavy that it can easily crush a body. It had urged me to leave again but, in such situations, I am not allowed to listen to instincts, maybe I should have. The last time I have seen him like this, it was shortly before we attacked the fortress and the old king. When his sister was in danger. 

We were a pack, yes. But even if we protected each other and survived this way, she was always more important than anything else - if something went against her will, we would not do it. He probably never realized how much power she had over him. They were more wolves than the rest of us, we just tagged along. 

We still do. 

“Are you telling me that the sentence was unjust? The leader makes the decision and the rest of the pack follows because they trust.” The grip around my hair became tighter but he did not pull it yet. Cruelty reached his eyes and they woke terror. My heart was beating against my ribcage so strong I thought it would explode. 

My hands clenched around the horn of my horse’s saddle that my fingers hurt but he would not look away, it pierced right through my body. I must admit I never thought him to be clever to catch up. 

“No.” My voice was meek and I trembled. 

My reaction seemed to fuel him, he chuckled and under us the horses became nervous. Maybe they caught a scent or they simply knew what was about to follow that chuckle. It always meant something terrible was about to happen. 

“This mission is too important to mistrust my judgment. I picked you and the rest of the group because of your skills and because of the past - we have done this so often, I thought you know what to do.”

Oh, I surely did. But even though he had a tendency to cruelty and brutality, he had never directed it at his found family. No matter what happened but back then we needed each other. Now I and the rest of us was disposable when we did not react as he intended us to do. 

Finally, he let go of my hair. “Maybe it’s time to look for a new head of the party. Someone who doesn’t make the mission more dangerous than it already is.”

My eyes widened. 

Another laugh. “I actually have a better idea. As if I can do this to Astrid. She has chosen you after all.”

Letter, Athos Dane to Astrid Dane

‘Dear sister, -   
‘We almost reached the ruins. It might be another day, we were attacked by a lone wolf but do not worry, I took care of her and will bring her to you. She is a very loyal beast and answers to all commands now. It was not easy. I will hurry to return to the capitol as fast as I can, you know I worry about you and the city. But I had to go, I am sure you understand it now. Tell your new servant to keep you company, he has interesting stories to tell if he talks. Ask him about my favourite one. You will like it too. Make it clear to the guards that they have to be more vigilant than ever.   
‘Your brother


	5. Chapter 5

Like a caged animal the Pale Queen wandered up and down in the throne room, passing her throne and that of her brother repeatedly and she considered just sitting down, assuming the position they had so fiercely fought for but she could not calm her mind - nor her body. One week had passed since Athos and his soldiers had left London and saying that she grew more and more nervous with every day was an understatement. 

There was no word of him yet. “He promised to keep me informed.” Her fingertips reached her blood-stained lips. She nibbled at them while being in deep thought. Then she passed the two thrones again; glorified chairs they would have said back then. 

Between them there stood a figure. He watched her silently with his arms resting more or less comfortably behind his back. As much as the other soldiers in the hall, he did not seem to care much for Astrid. 

“How many guards?”

His expression changed slightly when she addressed him. His two different eyes still looked dead to her however. 

“Two hundred.”

“Here?” She released her fingers from her teeth and instead started picking at the half cape that she had draped over her left shoulder; she run them through the greyish fur as if she was stroking a pet. 

“Yes,” Holland replied. She did not know from where he had taken two hundred guards for the fortress alone but in such a situation, she did not care about this little detail. This number combined with the abilities of an Antari, set in a fortress like this… she should be safe, Astrid thought to herself as she turned on her heels and continued pacing. 

No army of guards at this place could make her feel as secure as the presence of her brother did, though. “I want more.”

The Antari furrowed his brows when he told her that there were no more soldiers left for guard-duty. All of their forces were assigned to protecting the fortress. If she wanted more guards… “We would have to recruit citizens,” he finished and still seemed unaffected by everything. 

Her eyes wandered across the white floor beneath her feet. The bones of those who had opposed them. In the direst of situations, she could wake them up - probably. As long as she stayed in the throne room or at least close to it, no one could ever touch her. And yet she despised his answer. He was right and she hated it when a servant was right while she was not. 

“Citizens are dangerous.” Finally, she sat down unto her throne, her hands grabbed the rests tightly. “We don’t know for whom they’re working aside from us.” 

They were able to storm this place in the past because of that - servants who were loyal to them and not to the old king. Servants and guards, only a few of them and the fortress was theirs for the taking. If she thought about it, she had imagined it to be more difficult. 

Astrid and her brother had not made the same mistake and she would not make it now out of desperation. Her servants were all loyal followers since the beginning, she would not hire anyone else. Some of them had come with them to London in their childhood even. She trusted them. They were hers. 

Replacing them was nothing that had ever crossed her mind. Athos was different in that matter, a little. He was easier to anger and punishment was severe, she had to admit. But this life was most likely still better than the one in the streets. 

They had all seen it and suddenly their lives at the coast had been a dream to achieve once more. The sky appeared to be endless during that time. 

She leaned her head into her palm and gazed at her brother’s servant. He was none of the talkative type and she could not blame him; not really. “How did it feel to get betrayed by your own servants?”

At first Holland did not answer, even seemed to notice her question or the devilish smile that crossed her lips. If she felt uncomfortable in her own skin because of the circumstances, she would do similar things to those around her. They had to suffer with her, that was the most important part about servants, was it not?

“And they took your king from you too.”

Their gazes met. Was there a flicker of hatred? She hoped so. 

“Like being pushed off the cliff when you expect them to help you.”

“And you watch your friend fall right next to you.” 

He hesitated to answer but it seemed as if something was pushing him to speak up. As if he was forced to do that. “Yes.” Well, Astrid could understand that; the concept of betrayal was not alien to her either. 

She nodded, still grinning. He had seen his king and friend fall and die, and he had survived. Very unfortunate. 

Right when she wanted to speak up again, wanting to push him further into talking for her own entertainment, the door to the throne room opened and a soldier headed towards them, dragging a frail looking person behind him. Astrid leaned forward to catch a better glance at the unfortunate soul and even Holland seemed to be curious about the newcomer - as curious as such a man could be, she thought to herself.

“Who is this?”

At her question, the soldier pushed the man in front of him, he could not catch his balance quick enough to keep himself on his feet but fell forward unto his knees and hands. Whoever had discovered him before her soldiers did, they had already done their damage. 

Holland twitched.

The Pale Queen looked at him once more, caught his twitch. “Do you know him?”

But he gave no reply. 

“I don’t like repeating my own words. Answer my question. Genuinely.” Her voice grew colder. She would not allow disobedience, not even from her brother’s servant.

It took him a moment or two, which felt to her like half an eternity. They did know each other, Astrid thought, he wants him to lie. She could see it. They looked at each other for far too long. “He belonged to the servants of the previous king.” No lie. 

“How could you possibly know?”

“He was his personal servant.” And then he turned his head so he did not have to look at the prisoner again; a friend of a friend and he had just betrayed him. There was no way around it but it still seemed to hurt. Somewhere down there. Her nails drummed against the armrest while considering his explanation. 

Until now, Astrid had believed all former servants were gone, already sorted out when they had taken the crowns but apparently, they had missed someone. She did not like thinking about it. It looked as if they had not been careful enough when picking the people in the kitchen and other places, they were rarely seen by the king or queen. It was easy to miss a kitchen boy.

“Where did you find him,” she asked the soldier to which he replied that they had picked him up in the kitchen where he was caught sneaking notes out of the fortress. So she had been right. 

The Pale Queen gritted her teeth. If one sneaked out secret messages out of such a place it meant nothing good for her or her brother. A spy? Most likely. She gestured towards the soldier, ordering him silently to hand her the notes. 

From what had been written on those pieces of papers, he indeed sent information about the incidents to someone outside those walls. Of course, she did not know to whom but their enemies were countless anyway.

There were more enemies than friends, in fact. Usually it would not occupy her mind for long but with the recent changes, it did something with her. 

“You’re not working alone. Who is supposed to receive them?” The notes made a crunching sound when she clenched her hand into a fist. This was a disaster. Especially because the man did not talk, even when the soldier kicked him with the tip of his boot. Matters became far too complicated for her taste. 

“Holland.”

The Antari looked up. If he knew what would follow? 

“What about you try getting information out of him this time? As you know, Athos isn’t here but you know how he works with prisoners. My hands feel a bit numb. I allow you to be my hands.”

A shadow moved in his eyes when she invited him. Well, it was not really an invitation but an order - everything in his body wanted to refuse and she knew. 

“You can use my knife.”

‘Dear brother, -  
‘It looks like days become shorter again, you know it means our enemies come out of their holes and try getting a piece of the treasures. We found a rat but he didn’t want to talk; maybe we can motivate him a little. I have to know who is scheming against us before they stand in our throne room and demand to be crowned. The captain of the guards reported about ominous activities in the city - no one knows what is happening but something certainly does happen. We have yet to find out who is in charge and what they want. Well, I don’t care about the latter. I think I’ll just add them to the floor.  
‘Astrid


	6. Chapter 6

In the distance ruins stood in a deep black against the cold greyish sky. Even from here they seemed to loom over them in an upsetting way and for a brief moment Athos was inclined to turn his horse around and return to his sister with empty hands. There was something about its sight that woke an alien feeling within his body. His companions could feel it too and looked at him with wary eyes, silently pleading to retreat. 

But there was only one direction they could head to. Behind them only waited death. The morning had passed in silence between them - some of them had already been there and were those who had pressed to stay in the capitol the most. Athos had wondered why but had not bothered asking them. 

Having their destination in plain sight did not do much to raise their morale after the sudden attack of a hungry she-wolf had postponed their travel for another day. They had finally arrived however and his stallion made its first step onto an ice-free ground. Grass of a soft green stretched from here beyond the ruin in an uneven circle. Here and there he could even spot little white flowers. 

“Has it changed from your last visit,” he wanted to know from one of his treasure hunters and turned his head towards him. Everyone was already busy with building the camp near the first rubbles of the ruin but they did not dare moving closer. At least not with the camp. The treasure hunter only shook his head, regarding the dark hole that leaded inside. 

It reminded Athos of a maw. “No, I doubt anyone has found their way to this place. There’s a village nearby but they say this place is cursed. And no one else except us knows about it.” 

“You’re sure about that?”

His companion tilted his head to the side in thought. “It has just recently appeared and we were lucky to have found it after all. We were already on our journey back.” Of course, no one could be sure about a foolish mind entering the blackness. 

Athos placed his hands on his hips and eyed the inky walls and collapsed towers. From this angle it almost appeared to look like a tunnel or a gate. But why would anyone build it like this, he wondered and moved closer. 

“Be careful,” the treasure hunter told him while handing another one his mare’s reigns. “This pile of rubble is bursting from magic. Not literally but one of my companions said it was hurting his ears.” Then he shrugged as if he could not quite believe that tale himself but Athos believed. 

And that was the most important part, was it not? He could feel the earth vibrating beneath his boots. Magic resided here. London and even the coast were nothing compared to it even though the skeleton of a building did the rest to cause goose bumps.  
A smile crept unto his features and he rubbed his hands against each other. He could not wait to explore this place like he has done with others for so many years ago. “Who volunteers to accompany me down there?” He would give them a choice, in the end they would all have to go but he was in the mood to let them decide themselves. 

Like in the past. 

A young boy jumped forward and raised his hand; he looked afraid but tried hiding it behind a stern smile. The Pale King liked that look on a person’s face and nodded. The treasure hunter he had talked to before sighed heavily before following the boy, pushing him gently forward as his pace had slowed down the closer he got to the entrance. 

“Can’t let the king die down there alone, can’t I?” He looked at Athos who appeared to be offended in the first moment but the excitement about a new discovery swept all of that away at once. Today he was a treasure hunter himself again. In a group of three they approached the ruin and its entry had seemingly grown in its size. When they crossed the threshold, all noise and light had been swallowed with them.

“It’s pitch black,” the boy exclaimed in surprise and wonder at the same time. He stretched his arm out, right into the blackness and laughed when he could not spot his fingertips anymore. Athos rolled his eyes as much as the treasure Hunter did. 

The latter snapped his fingers and a pale flame danced in his palm that illuminated the insides of the hall. Well, part of it as they still could not see very far. “Darkness roams here.” And darkness lived here in form of shadows, Athos added in his mind while descending the flight of stairs, followed by his companions. The boy had to hold himself back to not pass the king and run in front. He reminded Athos of a young foal, too young to be afraid of the world.

When their shadows wandered across the walls, he noticed the strange imagery and runes that had been carved inside. To him they made little sense as they were eerily similar to the runes they used and yet were still too different to read. He threw a closer look at it but was certain it was a foreign language. “Have you seen that?”

“Yes, but we can’t read it. Whatever they wrote, they had many things to tell.” Indeed, the whole wall was filled with runes from the ground to the ceiling. Here and there they had added images that were just as alien to him. One part of him wondered if Astrid had ever seen something like it before but he hardly doubted it. 

She was more patient than him though, maybe she could have deciphered it if she had been here. “I want a copy from that wall. And the rest.” Maybe it would reveal something to him but in the first place, he was simply curious about it. “And what is that?” He pointed at the centre of the hall where two pillars reached for the ceiling. Runes decorated them as well but they were bigger.

The boy wanted to reach for them but the hunter slapped his wrists. “Don’t touch that,” he hissed. “You don’t know what it can do with--” He could not end his sentence; Athos pressed his flat palm against the pillar. 

In the same moment he jerked his hand back. No matter what kind of magic lingered within those black stones, its vibration had burnt him. For a ghost of a moment all magic inside the pillar and his had connected before it exploded in pain and he had withdrawn his hand. He rubbed his palm and scowled. 

“At that’s why we don’t touch things we don’t know,” the treasure hunter concluded and pulled the boy with him away from the newest discovery. His old face frowned. “One of my men burnt to a pile of ash when he touched it.” Judging from the tone of his voice, it had not been a pleasant sight to behold. 

Athos grumbled, asked him why he had let him touch the pillar if he knew about that possible outcome but the other shrugged. “I can’t forbid the king something.” And with those words they shifted away from the pillars but Athos gaze wandered back to it again and again until darkness took it back from his sight.

“Here we have found the little thing we took to the capitol. There are other rooms down there but we haven’t been able to open all of them. One is sealed - with magic, I suppose. Directly under the pillars.” The treasure hunter gestured towards another flight of steps leading deeper into the building. 

“Have you found more than just what you have showed me?”

“Yes, plenty. More than we could possibly carry home.”

The group climbed down, facing a short hallway. He had been right, some doors, three of them, were open and holes gaped at the guests. Another three seemed to had stayed untouched by the prior expedition as well as by other raids. 

Then there was the great door at the other end of the hallway.

“Have you tried opening it,” Athos asked him but he only shook his head. An ominous shadow crept over his features before he started moving towards the first opened door. “For most things, I don’t even know what they’re supposed to be.”

Athos’ fingers travelled along the edge of something that appeared to be a blind mirror to him. The whole room was stuffed with almost ordinary looking things and yet they had something otherworldly about them. Almost as if he could not wrap his mind around them.

It was a very strange feeling. 

“Maybe someone has lived here,” the boy said while scavenging through a pile of different things until he held up an old tome. 

Athos took the handed tome and skimmed through the yellow pages but like the carvings on the wall, he did not know what had been written in there. “No,” he replied, closing the tome and stuffing it under his arm. This one would come with him. “The objects are randomly arranged. Only a lunatic would live here.”

Or a hoarding dragon. He had to force back a laugh at the thought. 

But if he thought about it, it was quite similar to a dragon’s hoard the other children had talked about when he had been a boy himself too. Too many different items had been collected to be anything else. “How did this end up here...” The treasure hunter pulled a blade from an oak table and unsheathed it. Athos and the boy stepped closer. Unlike almost everything in this room it was not black but of a pale, silver colour. “Must have been brought here from London. For quite some time.”

Back in the days the blades of London were famous across the borders as much as the other worlds, Athos remembered from notes about the forgotten age. Well, he remembered that his sister had told him. Something she had read in an old book, found on coincidence while looking at the books left in the fortress. 

He had never believed her in that matter. Everything was lost and her stories were most likely only a fairy tale from her side; trying to fool him.

It was amusing however that he remembered it now. 

“Take it with you if you like.” He felt generous that day. “Better get back to the camp until they think we died down here.”

He gazed at the big door at the end once more and the pillars upstairs as well with shimmering eyes. Something drew him to these places but he could not tell what exactly it was. The only thing he knew was that this was a place full of magic. Magic had never died here it seemed.

They stepped out of the ruin and the Pale King watched the sky and the warm raindrops falling onto his face. The others followed and even reached their hands out to the clouds; caught the raindrops with their fingers.

He heard the young boy screeching in joy behind him: “It’s not snowing anymore! Look! Real rain!”


End file.
